Foster



A. K; `& BTH. FOSTER.

Rotary Cultivtor.

PatentedV Deo, v18, 1866.

No.A 60,625.

PETERS. PHOTD-UTHOGRAP HxNGTUN, D c.

@gait-rh mira- @strat@Hirn` IMPROVEMENT IN4 COTTON OULTIVATOR.

@the Svttgtvnl retirar: tu in Home. ttterstturt mit mntiuwurt rf tige same.

To ALL 'wHoM 1T MAY'eoNenRN= Be it knownY that we, A. K. FOSTER and B. H.' FOSTER, of Hallettsville in the county of Lavacca, and State of Texas, have invented a new and improved Cotton Cultivator; andwe do 4hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,vwhich will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specicatibn, in whiehv Figure 1 is a side sectionalview of my invention, taken in the line a: sr, iig. 2.

Figure a plan or top view ofthe same;

Figure 3, a rear viewof the same.

Figure 4, an inverted plan of the share pertaining to the same.

` Figure 5, angenlarged central view of the vdriving-wheel pertaining to the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts. l

The invention relates to a new and improved eultivator, designed more especially for cultivating cotton, scraping the earth away from the young plants, and thinning out the same. The invention consistsV of a share or scraper, composed of two parts, and a reciprocatingcutter, operated from the driving-wheel, or the wheel which supports the implement, as hereinafter fully shown and described. A represents a beam, and B B are two handles'which are connected by`a bar, C, the latter being secured to the rea-r part of the beam, and serving V,to support the handles. The handles are also connected' by a bar, ai, which serves as a brace fior the same. D represents a wheelfthe axle b of which is attached to the-beam A. This wheel, D, has two annular, concentric grooves, c c', made' in one side of rim, said grooves being of Tishape in their trarsvcrse section, in order that nuts, a, may be fitted in them to receive screws, and admit of said screws being firmly secured in the grooves at any point desired. This will be fully understoodby referring to fig. 5. The nuts may be withdrawn .from the grooves by having a transverse groove or recess, 6*, made in the rim b for the nuts to pass through.

E represents the share, which is composed of two parts, CZ d, placed or arranged in V form, as shown clearly in iigs. 2 and 4, a space, e, being allowed between the front ends of the parts d d, so that a' part, d, may operate at each side of a row of plants. The parts d d are secured near ltheir front ends to the bottom of a standard, F, the upper end of which is firmly bolted to the' beam .A,.the parts d being each provided with alateral or horizontal plate, G, at their upper edges, which lap one over the other, and have oblong slots,f, made in them, through which, and the lower part of the standard, a bolt, jg, passes. The rear ends ofthe parts dd are attached by pivots, z, to a bar, H, secured to the lower` ends of thehandlesB B, and it will be seen thatby loosening the bolt g, the front ends of the parts d d may bevadjusted at la greater or less distance apart, and then secured in the position desiredby tightening up said bolt.' The share may be adjusted higher or lower, according t0 the depth of penetration required, by having the standard F provided with a screw, t', atits upper end, the screw passing through the -beam.A, and having two nuts, jj, upon i't, one above and the other below the beam, as shown in iig. l. One side of the Vstandard projects up by the side of the beam, and has a vertical slot made in it, .through which a screw, Z, passes into thebeam By these means the standard, 'and consequently the share, may be adjusted higher or lower, and firmly secured at the desired point. I represents a rock-bar, the front bearing, m, of which is attached to the beam A, the' rear bearing being'in a lever, J, the lower cnd of which is connected by a fulcrum pin, n, to appendanto,' attached to the beam. This rock-bar has two arms, pp', projecting from it at right angles, and from the same side, towards thewheel D, the arms pp', being in the path of the screws so that the latter will .act against the 'former as the wheel D rotates underthedraughtmovement of the machine. Through the rock-bar I, near its front end, two 1ods,`K K, pass. These rods have screw-threads cut ou their upper ends to-,receive nuts, g, two on each rod, one' above and the other below the bar. I.' These rods extend down between the rear ends of the two parts d d of the share, and have a cutter, L, attached, said cutter being composed of twoparts or plates, r r, with the lower end s of the rods K K secured between them, each part or plate, 1*, having a cutting edge, s, projecting out from its lower end. (See g. The lever J is retained in position by a spring-catch, M, securedto the bar a* of the-handles. As the implement is drawn along, the two parts n cl oftle share E scrape the earth away from each side of the row of plants, while the cutters, L, thin out the plants in consequence of working transversely across the row, the cutter being moved in one direction bythe -heads .of the screws in the inner groove c', striking the front arm, jo', of the rock-bar I, and moved inthe other direction by the screw-heads in the outer groove, c, striking the rear arm,'p, of the rock-bar. A greater or less number of screws may be fitted into the grooves c ci, according to the length of the spaces required between the plants, and it will be seen that the screws, ,whether a greater or less number be used, may be adjusted at an equal distance apart in the grooves c c with the greatest facility. The reciprocating cutter L may be rendered inoperative at any time by moving the lever J so as to throw the rear end of the rockbar I to the right, and the arms pp of said bar out from the screws z'.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l 1. The share E, composed of two parts, d d, arranged in V form, with a space, e, between theirfront ends, and attached to a. standard, and tothe front ends of the handles B B, in 'the manner shown and described, or in an equivalent way, to admit of being adjusted at a greater or less distance apart at their front ends, substantially as shown and described. v

2. The reciprocating cutter L, operated from the .wheel D, `through the medium of the screws z', and the rock-barz, provided with the armspp, in combination with the share E, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

3. The fitting or securing of the screws z' to the wheel D, by means of the concentric annular grooves c c in the side of the rim 6 of said wheel, to receive the nuts a of the screws z', whereby the screws may be readily applied to and detached from the wheel," and securedat an equal distance apart, substantially as described.

. A. K. FOSTER,

Witnesses: B. H. FOSTER.

J. R. EVANS,

VOLNEY ELLIS. 

